Chilmark has chosen from within its own ranks to lead the town’s fire department.
The Chilmark Select Board announced its unanimous decision to hire Chilmark Deputy Fire Chief Manuel (“Manny”) Rose as the new fire chief during a select board meeting on Thursday. Rose will replace retiring Chilmark Fire Chief Jeremy Bradshaw.
The decision follows the finalist interviews on Tuesday with Rose and Tisbury Deputy Fire Chief Marques Rivers. After the interviews, the select board agreed that both candidates were capable of successfully leading the department.
Select board member Matthew Poole explained that Rose was selected because of his extensive knowledge of the Chilmark Fire Department and recommendations for its future.
“Manny was minimally dependent on his written submittal and expanded on all his topics and themes during the actual interview,” Poole said on Thursday “He was able to pull nearly all the information from his head that he submitted in writing and showed a depth of knowledge and a clear direction of how he liked to lead the department, if chosen.”
During his interview, Rose highlighted the need for training both within the fire department and with other groups, such as with the beach departments, to better prepare for emergencies.
“If we train together, we get familiar with each other. You put a name to a face,” he said. “They want to work together more and the rest of it kind of plays on itself.”
Outside of Chilmark, Rose has also served as the Oak Bluffs deputy fire chief in his 32-year firefighting career. Rose also temporarily led the Oak Bluffs department after the 2020 resignation of former fire chief John Rose following allegations of sexual harassment within the department — a case that was settled out of court. Rose, who is also Manny’s brother, currently faces charges for attempting to conduct “electronic surveillance” on a “nude or partially nude persons,” and attempting to pose or exhibit a “child in state of nudity or sexual conduct.”
Following the select board’s decision, Manny Rose will begin salary negotiations and undergo the necessary physical, psychiatric, and background checks.
Rose told the Times that he felt “very excited” about becoming Chilmark’s next fire chief.
“I feel that I’ve done a good job at foreseeing the department’s needs in order to move forward,” he said.
Uncomfortable as we may be about the charges against John Rose, that doesn’t seem to be relevant to the appointment of Manny to Chilmsrk Fire Department Chief. Congratulations. Mr. Rose!
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Are commenters allowed to dig up dirt on relatives of Times reporters and editors to cast aspersions on their accomplishments? What do the actions of his brother have to do with this story?
Well said Harrison ! The times had no business doing what they did.. He is his own person and need not be commented on family members in comparison to him self .. cheap tabloid move for a paper that’s classless and not worthy of toilet paper.
Harrison raises a fair point.
The Select Board interviewed two qualified candidates and made a unanimous decision based on Manny Rose’s experience, institutional knowledge of the Chilmark Fire Department, and his stated leadership approach. That’s the substance of the story.
The actions of a relative — however troubling — were not part of this hiring process, and there’s no indication they factored into the board’s decision. Including them risks inviting readers to draw associations that the Select Board itself did not make.
Public hiring should be evaluated on the candidate’s record, qualifications, and the process used. If there are broader concerns about standards in public safety leadership or accountability, those deserve their own reporting — not sidebar treatment in an otherwise straightforward personnel decision.
I have read countless articles about people who have been appointed to various jobs, positions or whatever and I have never come across one that discussed their siblings. It ‘s a shame that you felt you had to add it to this one.
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